25-minute kayak ride for big buck
Many years ago, my dad, Lowell Brannan, and I had the idea of using our Hobie fishing kayaks to go out on the lake, track down some deer signs, and just try our luck. Old school hunting, no baiting, and on public land.
This year I finally decided it was time to give it a try. On Sept. 15, 2025, the opening day of bow season, I set out on my Hobie kayak with a good 25-minute pedal to a spot I wanted to check out. Having never scouted this area before, I eased around the banks To my surprise, I saw a few does, marching through the forest. I stopped right there, pulled my kayak up on the bank, and using my Grand Slam Supreme 30-year-old climber that I was handed down, found a tree nearby and set up for an evening sit.
After an hour or so, I saw those same five does walking behind me far enough into the brush to not get a great shot. Not two minutes after that, a red fox was hot on their trail.
Buck shows up
With 10 minutes or so of shooting light left, this 9-point buck came cruising the banks. After seeing my kayak, he seemed slightly spooked and ran right underneath my tree. He walked off and gave me a great quartering away, 20-yard shot with the bow.
Getting dark fast, I started to get down the tree. A torrential downpour started before I even had a chance to look at the shot location and find any blood trail. Feeling defeated that I would never find it, I realized I also could not find my arrow, which meant I had to have hit it. Before I called it quits, I did a 20- or so minute search up the ridge. And to my surprise, he was belly up, not 70 yards from the stand. Quartering way, I’d hit the liver, lungs and heart all in one shot without a pass-through and no blood trail.
It was truly, a super rememberable hunt, as I had to carry him out and load him on the back of my kayak for another 25-minute pedal back to the Boat Ramp. I’ll have him European mounted, as this is my first sizable buck I’ve ever shot with the bow.
I feel very blessed to have this awesome opportunity and memories.
Hunter’s name: Easton Brannan
Anderson, South Carolina
Anderson County
Sept. 15, 2025
9-point buck